“Each manager and up to six (6) coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their League, and cannot vote for players on their own team. For the first time in its 57-year history, Rawlings added a sabermetric component to the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process, as part of its new collaboration with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). The SABR Defensive Index comprised of approximately 25 percent of the overall selection total, with the managers and coaches’ vote continuing to carry the majority.”

Advanced defensive metrics aren’t considered to be as reliable as most offensive numbers, but the Rays graded well on that front, too. Longoria finished second in the AL with 12 defensive runs saved, albeit far behind Machado’s 35. Loney ranked fourth with four, ahead of both other finalists at his position.

Zobrist’s seven defensive runs saved ranked seventh in the AL behind Pedroia (15), but just ahead of Cano (six). Escobar also finished seventh in the league with four defensive runs saved, tying him with the Royals’ Escobar, but Hardy posted eight.